Former heavyweight champion Frank Mir is
set to become the first UFC fighter to temporarily exit the Octagon
for a bout with sister promotion Strikeforce.

Mir will face unbeaten wrestler Daniel
Cormier in the co-main event of an as-yet-unannounced October
Strikeforce
card, UFC President Dana White told USA Today on Wednesday.

Mir-Cormier represents the first convergence of the UFC and
Strikeforce rosters. UFC parent company Zuffa, LLC, acquired
Strikeforce in 2011 and has maintained the organizations as
separate entities, despite calls from fans and pundits to bring
fighters such as Melendez and Cormier to the Octagon. According to
the USA Today report, both Mir and Cormier compete in the UFC after
the bout, with Strikeforce having dissolved its heavyweight
division.

Mir will look to rebound from a May thumping at the hands of
current UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos
Santos. The 33-year-old submission specialist had won four of
five since dropping his title to Brock
Lesnar in July 2009.

Also 33, Cormier has racked up 10 wins and seven finishes in less
than three years as a professional mixed martial artist. The
two-time U.S. Olympian finished his run through the Strikeforce
heavyweight grand prix in May with an impressive win over another
onetime UFC champ, Josh
Barnett.

This item was updated July 26 at 11:09 a.m. PT after Strikeforce
announced the bout will take place in October, not September, as
originally reported.

Related News

UFC 205 was a special night, but, alas, normalcy returns at UFC 206. The card was an ugly thing from top to bottom, with an unexciting main event and little else of value behind it, but some shake-upread news >>

Marcos Rogerio de Lima has competed in Strikeforce and was a contestant on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3” but he hasn’t been very active during his time with the UFC.Filed under: News, UFCread news >>

The UFC is headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for its 100th Fight Night event. Headlining will be a light heavyweight rematch between Ryan Bader and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The two originally met in 2010read news >>

Daniel Cormier is out of the UFC 206 main event due to injury, and the timeline for his return is unclear. Continue for updates. Latest on Cormier's Fighting Status Friday, Nov. 25 According to Arielread news >>

Another UFC main event has taken a hit in 2016. Two weeks before the fight, light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier is out of his rematch with Anthony Johnson at UFC 206 in Toronto. Filed under: Featuread news >>

The UFC 206 main event took a major hit on Friday, as an undisclosed injury has forced Daniel Cormier out of his light heavyweight title defense. Cormier was supposed to put his belt on the line in aread news >>